Install Altitude

Note: ARM64 Support While Altitude doesn't have official ARM64 support yet, our installation guide works with x86_64 servers only. If you use another provider (AWS, Hetzner, Vultr, etc.), avoid ARM/Graviton/ARM64 instances even if they are cheaper, choose an x86_64 (AMD/Intel) plan.

Get Started with Altitude

This guide will walk you step by step through setting up your own Crew Center on a server.

We know that not everyone who wants to use Altitude is a server expert. Some of you may never have logged into Linux or touched DNS records before — and that's totally fine.

This documentation is written so anyone can follow along.

How This Guide is Structured

Step-by-step instructions you can follow directly, even if you don't know what's happening under the hood
Extra explanations along the way. If you just want to get your server running fast, you can safely skip these and only follow the step boxes

We'll use DigitalOcean as the main example (because it's beginner-friendly), but the steps are very similar for other providers like AWS, Vultr, or Hetzner.

What You'll Have by the End

A working Linux server ("droplet") on the internet
A domain name connected to that server (so you can visit your Crew Center at yourdomain.com)
Crew Center installed and running via our installer script
A secure connection (HTTPS) so your site is safe to use

Step 1: Create Your Server (Droplet)

Altitude needs a computer to run on — not your laptop, but a real server that's always online. Instead of buying hardware, we'll rent a tiny server from DigitalOcean.

They call these servers Droplets. Think of a Droplet like a small, always-on computer in the cloud.

Go to DigitalOcean and create an account.

You'll need a credit card or PayPal. Don't worry, you'll only be billed for what you use (and we'll pick the cheapest server that works well).

Important: After signing up

If a popup appears, click to skip to console
Go to Billing (on the sidebar on the left hand side)
Register a payment method
$1 will be charged to verify your identity

Billing Information

Hourly billing: You're billed by the hour, not upfront for the full month. If you only use the server for a few days, you'll only pay for those hours
Stop billing: To stop being billed, you must destroy the droplet completely. Simply turning it off or powering it down won't stop the charges - the server must be destroyed from your DigitalOcean dashboard

2. Create a Droplet

Once you're logged in: click the Create (green button) on the top and select Droplets.

Browser Issue On certain browsers like Firefox, the "Droplets" option being the first element in the dropdown might not be shown. If you encounter this issue, simply switch to Chrome or another browser.

3. Choose Your Datacenter Region

Choose a datacenter near your crew or pilots.

For example: Europe → Amsterdam/Frankfurt, US → New York/San Francisco.

The closer the server is to your users, the faster pages will load.

4. Select the Operating System

Choose Ubuntu (the latest LTS version, like Ubuntu 24.04 LTS).

Important The default might be Ubuntu 25.04 (non-LTS). Use the dropdown to find and select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (or the latest LTS version available).

Why Ubuntu? Ubuntu is the most beginner-friendly Linux distribution. It's stable, well-documented, and almost every guide online assumes you're using it.

5. Choose Your Server Size

Under Regular → Basic, select the $6/month plan (1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25 GB SSD, 1 TB transfer).

Important Avoid the $4/month option — it only has 512 MB of memory, which isn't enough for Altitude.

Why not bigger? You can choose a bigger server if you want, but for most crews, the $6/month plan is enough. You can always upgrade later.

6. Set Your Password

Choose your password directly on the page — make sure to remember it!

7. Set the Hostname

Give your server a hostname (like altitude-server) — you can use your VA name if you want!

8. Finalize and Create

Click Create Droplet.

Within a minute, your server will be ready. Write down the public IP address — we'll need it soon.

9. Next Steps

Your server is ready! Continue with Step 2 below to set up your domain first, then come back for Step 3 to install Altitude.

Step 2: Connect a Domain to Your Server

Your Droplet has an IP address (IPv4) like 143.110.123.45. That works, but nobody wants to type numbers. That's where DNS comes in.

What is DNS? DNS (Domain Name System) is the phonebook of the internet. You type afva.com, DNS turns it into 143.110.123.45, and your browser connects.

Domain Setup Options

Option 1: Free Subdomain (Easy)

We can give you a free subdomain like:

afva.flyaltitude.app

What's a subdomain? A domain is like afva.com. A subdomain is like crew.afva.com.

Quick workflow:

Join our Discord server and open a support ticket with your server's IPv4 address
Once we set it up and reply (usually within hours on weekends, up to a day on weekdays), skip the rest of Step 2 and go directly to Step 3

Option 2: Buy Your Own Domain (More Control)

If you want something unique like delta-va.com, buy a domain (~$10–15/year). Popular choices: Namecheap, Google Domains, Cloudflare Registrar.

1. Add Your Domain to Cloudflare

Create a free account at Cloudflare, add your domain, and change nameservers at your registrar.

Nameservers Nameservers = the company answering DNS requests for your domain. Switching to Cloudflare means "Cloudflare, handle my DNS."

2. Add an A Record

Type: A
Name: @ (your root domain, like delta-va.com)
Value: your Droplet IPv4

For a subdomain like crew.delta-va.com, add another A record with Name crew and Value = your IP.

A record An A record = "When someone visits this domain → send them to this IP."

3. Turn Off the Proxy

Click the orange cloud in Cloudflare to turn it grey (DNS only).

Note Altitude already provides SSL (HTTPS). You don't need Cloudflare's proxy.

DNS propagation After adding records, it can take a few minutes (sometimes up to 1 hour) for your domain to start working worldwide. Don't worry if it doesn't work instantly.

Domain Options Comparison

Option	What You Get	Process	Timeline	Best For
Free Subdomain	`afva.flyaltitude.app`	Open Discord ticket with IPv4 → wait for response → proceed to Step 3	Hours-weekends, up to 1 day-weekdays	Beginners
Custom Domain	`delta-va.com` or `crew.delta-va.com`	Buy domain + set up DNS → proceed to Step 3	Minutes to hours (DNS propagation)	Crews wanting their own branding

Next Steps

If you chose Option 1 (Free Subdomain): Wait for our Discord response with your subdomain, then skip to Step 3.

If you chose Option 2 (Custom Domain): Once DNS is pointing to your server IP, go back to your DigitalOcean dashboard, access the console for your droplet, and continue with Step 3.

Step 3: Install Altitude

1. Access the Console

Now go to your DigitalOcean dashboard and access the console for your droplet:

Find your droplet in the list
Click the 3 dots (...) on the right side of your droplet (It's either "..." or "More" depending on the page you're on)
Select Access Console
Click Launch Droplet Console

2. Run the Installer

Once the console opens, paste this command and press Enter:

curl -fsSL https://install.flyaltitude.app/install-altitude.sh | bash

How to paste Right-click in the console and select "Paste", or use Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac).

3. Complete the Setup

The installer will prompt: Enter your crew center domain:

If you requested a free subdomain, type that (e.g. afva.flyaltitude.app) and press Enter
If you bought your own domain, type that (e.g. delta-va.com) and press Enter

The setup takes 2–5 minutes. It will:

Install required software
Set up Altitude
Configure SSL for secure HTTPS

🎉 Your Altitude Crew Center is Live!

When the installation finishes, open your browser to:

https://afva.flyaltitude.app/setup
https://delta-va.com/setup

Pro Tip Keep your server login handy — you may need it later for updates or restarts. For everyday use, everything happens on your Crew Center website.

Need help? Join our Discord server and open a support ticket. We're here to help you get flying!

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